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The Torch

8:08 am

Tue August 7, 2012

Let's Catch Up: Australia's Quiet Summer, And A U.S. Invasion

Triathlon gold medalist Alistair Brownlee of Britain (right) and silver medalist Javier Gomez of Spain lie on the ground after crossing the finish line in the London Games.

Christophe SimonAFP/Getty Images

Good morning. A lot has been happening in London, where the Summer Games are in their eleventh day. Here's a rundown of the news that caught our eye:

- British triathlete Alistair Brownlee has won gold in his event. Spain's Javier Gomez won silver, and Brownlee's younger brother, Jonathan, took bronze — in part because of a penalty received on the course, for getting on his bike too quickly. It's sort of like a race-car driver stomping on the gas while they're still in pitlane: forbidden.

- Host nation Great Britain has already equaled the 19 gold medals it won at the Beijing Games in 2008. British athletes have won 43 total medals, or four short of the 2008 total.

- Australia, normally a force to reckon with at the Summer Olympics, has been fairly quiet in 2012, with just two gold medals to its credit. A CNN International article looks at why.

- A feature article by The New York Times on Nigeria's basketball team, also known as D'Tigers, is winning many fans on Twitter. Greg Bishop notes the blowout loss the team absorbed at the hands of the U.S., and how the team made history with its Olympic debut and first win. As our Vickie Walton-James learned by talking to Nigeria's fans after the game, they were anything but depressed.

- U.S. Military Athletes Invade London Olympics — As Wired reports in that headline, there are a lot of them. We've reported on a few, including Marine boxer Jamel Herring and, in a related sense, rifle shooter Jamie Gray, who is married to an Army sergeant. Wired counts 21 total, out of the 529 athletes representing the United States.